Wage garnishment "is a scary concept since they can take 15% of after-tax income," Ashley Morgan, debt and bankruptcy attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law PC, told Fortune.

Wage garnishment "is a scary concept since they can take 15% of after-tax income," Ashley Morgan, debt and bankruptcy attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law PC, told Fortune.

Federal student loan borrowers in default could soon see their wages garnished or Social Security checks withheld after Jan. 7.

The Department of Education began sending notices of coming wage garnishment to over 1,000 defaulted student loan borrowers.